The benefits and harms of potato tops
It is not always possible for gardeners to get a good harvest of potatoes on their personal plot. Most often, pests and plant diseases are to blame. However, the reason for the decrease in the amount of potato yield may be too high potato tops.
The benefits and harms of potato tops
Reasons for the appearance of high tops
Too high greens negatively affect the yield of potatoes. If the tops of the potatoes grow up to 1 m in height, in autumn you can expect small roots from the bushes. The reason for such a shallowness of tubers is the energy expended by the plant on the growth of greenery.
A number of factors affect the height and activity of growth, why the tops of potatoes begin to outstrip the development of root crops.
Oversupply of fertilizers
An overabundance of nitrogen-containing fertilizers in the soil leads to excessive growth of potato greens. This causes the top of the potato to grow 1 m in height. In such a situation, the tubers do not develop properly, the root system grows with a noticeable delay. As a result, gardeners harvest small potatoes.
The use of fertilizers such as manure and humus, which have a high nitrogen content, becomes especially dangerous for the active growth of potato greens.
Large planting material
Too large potato tubers can also cause potato green tops to grow. This is because a large root vegetable is known to contain more nutrients than a small one. Due to such a massive source of useful elements, the tops grows, preventing the root system from developing properly. New root crops begin to form after the final depletion of the planting tuber, but this happens already at the end of the growing season. As a result, the harvest is small.
For planting, it is recommended to choose potatoes no larger than a chicken egg.
Insufficient illumination
One of the reasons why potatoes have high tops is a lack of light. In shady places, plants stretch out, striving for light.
Too frequent planting of bushes also affects the quality of illumination.
Climatic conditions
Potato tops grow during the warm and rainy season. If it is impossible to influence the weather, the gardeners have adapted to trample the tops after the flowering of the potatoes so that it lies on the garden bed and does not take nutrients from the root system.
Fertilizers to combat haulm
If the tops are growing, you should adjust the feeding of the vegetable crop.
Superphosphate
Most often, the use of superphosphate is chosen to combat potato tops. The introduction of this fertilizer will not get rid of the grown greenery, however, it will activate the development of potato root crops and preserve the quantitative indicators of the yield.
The introduction of superphosphate during the period of active growth of potato tops starts the tuberization process, ensures the outflow of nutrients from the foliage to the tubers.
To prepare a working solution with superphosphate, 100 g of the main ingredient is required, dissolved in a 10-liter bucket of water. The resulting nutrient liquid is poured over potato bushes. This amount is enough for 1 hundred square meters of planting area.
As a measure to combat a decrease in potato yield due to excessive growth of potato tops, foliar top dressing is often used. Leaf dressing is characterized by higher rates of nutrient absorption, which leads to an acceleration of the tuberization process.
Limiting fertilization of the soil
An excess of fertilizer will make the tops grow
Nitrogen fertilizers are not applied if in autumn during harvesting or in spring before planting the planting areas were fertilized with manure or humus.
To prevent the growth of potato greens, feeding with nutrients is limited. Among them:
- potassium,
- iron,
- phosphorus,
- magnesium.
Limiting the amount of plant feeding when growing potatoes is also important because even in the case of large tubers grown with a rich and high potato green part, such a crop, oversaturated with fertilizers, is poorly stored.
Removing the tops
If it is not possible to determine what exactly is the reason for the active growth of potato greens, the tops are bent down. This makes it possible to suspend its growth for a period of about 2 weeks and start the tuberization process.
Greenery removal is carried out in one of 2 ways:
- Mechanical. As a result, the green part of the potato bush remains at least 25 cm high. This is enough for the full absorption of chemicals during processing. The mechanical method of cutting off the green part is carried out by means of a topper and is not used for low bushes.
- Chemical. Often it is used as an addition to the mechanical one a day after the latter. For greater efficiency, the chemical treatment is carried out twice. In the first, the upper part of the stem is destroyed, in the second, the effect of exposure to chemicals is fixed.
Both methods of removing potato greens are carried out 7 days before mowing.
Haulm mowing
To increase the yield of a vegetable crop, if the potato top has gone into active growth, allows its mowing. The event is carried out at the end of the stage of flower development. Mowing greenery has many advantages:
- stimulating the development of tubers,
- improving the quality characteristics of the crop,
- drying of furrows,
- lowering the barrier of plant infection with diseases, the causative agents of which prefer to settle on potatoes,
- increasing the shelf life of the crop,
- simplification of the collection of potatoes.
It is recommended to mow potato greens 2 weeks before the expected harvest of potatoes. In other cases, it is mowed earlier, but always after the potatoes have risen and the flowers have departed, at the end of the flowering stage.
Using the tops
Many gardeners use cut potato greens for agricultural needs.
Pest control
Extracts from potato greens become an effective means of combating many pests: spider mites, leaf-eating caterpillars, aphids, cabbage whites, moths.
You can prepare a working liquid against pests in the form of an infusion if you break off fresh shoots or use dried herbs. The proportions of greens are 0.3-0.4 kg per 10 liter bucket of water. The infusion is kept in a warm place for 4 hours, then up to 50 g of any soap is dissolved in it. The working solution of planting in the garden is irrigated in the evening.
Fertilizer
The green part is the most valuable source of nutrients from which compost fertilizer is obtained.It is recommended to bury potato greens in a compost heap with preliminary treatment of the place with copper sulfate, which creates a protective disinfecting barrier for the development of infections. You can use the resulting fertilizer after 3 years. This period is enough for the causative agents of fungal diseases, including late blight, to be destroyed.
Potato greens are often used for mulching bushes of raspberries, currants, gooseberries and other berry bushes.
Feed
Gardeners do not use the potato green part when feeding pets. Containing a high concentration of corned beef and other toxic components, the tops cause digestive disorders in pigs, rabbits, cows and horses. Sheep are the exception to this list of domestic animals: the potato tip improves the quality of their wool.